


The Easy Way Out

by TheLonelyJournalKeeper



Series: OWCA Agent AU [1]
Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Spies & Secret Agents, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Enemies to Friends, Evil Scientist!Rumplestiltskin, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Happy Ending, OWCA, OWCA Agent!Belle, Parent-Child Relationship, Phineas and Ferb au, Rumbelle is Hope
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-16
Updated: 2016-05-16
Packaged: 2018-06-08 18:01:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,442
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6867718
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheLonelyJournalKeeper/pseuds/TheLonelyJournalKeeper
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Agent Belle French has a complicated relationship with her nemesis Mr. Gold, but she won’t let him another bad decision.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Easy Way Out

**Author's Note:**

> Yep. Phineas and Ferb au. I'm not sorry.

At a glance, Belle could take in the entire grand workshop of her nemesis’s penthouse apartment. She immediately zeroed in on the trap, a bit of the hard wood floor that looked out of place. She guessed it was pressure sensitive. 

She stepped on it. A pair of shackles extended from the floor and immediately snapped shut around her ankles. “That’s not terribly creative of you,” she said aloud. “They’re quite comfortable though so I won’t complain.” 

Mr. Gold, drawn by the sound of his trap activating, walked into his workshop from another room. He looked handsome as always with his long soft hair and warm brown eyes and he dressed neatly though Belle didn’t think three-piece suits made the most sense when one spent most of their time tinkering with strange contraptions. 

Then again, Belle was wearing high heels and a skirt so perhaps neither of them dressed appropriately for the situation. It was fortunate they rarely made it to blows before Belle defeated him. 

“Sorry, dearie,” her nemesis drawled. “I was a bit busy with my latest invention. I’ll be sure to come up with something more elaborate next time.” 

“Please.” She was certain there would be a next time. They had long ago settled into a routine, a dangerous sort of dance. It wasn’t strictly up to protocol (much like their outfits) but Belle loved it all the same and O.W.C.A. couldn’t complain so long as she stopped Mr. Gold from doing anything too evil which she did. 

“So what is it today?” Belle asked. 

“I’m glad you asked,” he said smoothly. He walked over to an object that was veiled beneath a tarp. Belle had seen it on her initial glance at the room and took it to be today’s machine of mayhem. 

He whipped the tarp off of the machine with a flourish and Belle “ooh-ed” appreciatively. She couldn’t be certain what the machine actually did, but it looked to be very well made. The chrome gleamed brightly. The shape was streamlined. There was not a wire out of place. 

Plus Mr. Gold seemed pleased she appreciated his work. He was cute when he was pleased with himself. 

“What does it do?” She asked. 

“Well it- do you want the long version or the short version?” 

“I’ll take the long version,” she said. She could listen to him talk for hours (and she had on occasion). His accented voice was lovely to listen to and the long version usually meant she got to learn more about him. 

“Oh,” he said, somewhat surprised. For some reason, he still never expected her to actually want to listen to him talk. He recovered quickly however and pulled a small remote out of his pocket. With the press of a button, a small metal chair rose out of the floor behind her. She took a seat, feet still shackled to the floor, but otherwise quite comfortable. 

“I wouldn’t want you to accuse me of being inhospitable.” 

“Oh certainly not,” she agreed with a smile. 

“Now where was I? Ah yes. You remember my son, Neal?” 

“Of course.” Neal was a frequent topic of conversation. In fact, many of Mr. Gold’s schemes tied back to Neal in one way or another. This was likely to be the case today. Belle couldn’t approve of his methods, but it was obvious he loved his son very much.”How is he?” 

There it was again, that moment of being taken aback by her genuine interest, but he shouldn’t be. He had lived a very interesting life. 

“Well he’s— that’s what I going to talk about. He’s upset with me.” 

“Oh no!” Belle said, genuinely sympathetic. “What happened?” 

“As you no doubt remember, I bought Neal a car for his sixteenth birthday. Someone ran into him in it yesterday. Thankfully, Neal wasn’t hurt, but the car is wrecked and I _may_ have turned the offenders into snails.”

“You didn’t!” Belle gasped. 

“Well I changed them back, if that makes any difference to you.” He sighed. “Neal wasn’t pleased.” 

“I can see why,” she said, somewhat mollified that he had turned them back. “But what does this have to do with your latest invention?” 

“Ah yes. This, Agent French, is a device capable of erasing memories, and very accurately, I might add. None of this complete memory wipe nonsense. With this machine, I will be able to erase Neal’s memories of the snail incident. Then he won’t be angry with me anymore. Simple as that!” 

“Mr. Gold! That’s a terrible idea!” 

“Yes? And why is that?” He said irritably. 

“Besides the fact that it’s dishonest and cowardly? He could very well find out about the ‘incident’ again and then have twice the reason to be mad at you!” 

Anger simmered behind Mr. Gold’s deep brown eyes. _“Cowardly?”_ He hissed. “In what way?” 

“Because you’re taking the easy way out!” Belle shot back. “Instead of owning up to your actions and talking things through, you’re just going to pretend like it never happened!” 

“I assure you, building a device capable of erasing very specific memories is not ‘the easy way out’.” 

“For you, it is.” She said fiercely. 

“Then it is a good thing you will not have a say in the matter,” Mr. Gold said coldly. “I intend to go through with my plan whether you like it or not.” He pressed a small black button on the device and it folded up into a block about the size of a clunky phone. He slid it into his pocket and made for the door. 

“Good bye, Agent French,” he said. “I shall deal with you when I return.” The door clicked shut and he walked towards another in his long list of bad decisions. 

Belle sighed heavily. She cared for him, she truly did, but he was forever doing the wrong thing for the right reason. 

Also he was terrible at making traps. It was like he _wanted_ her to escape. He’d left her hands free and everything. 

She rummaged around in her hat for a moment before pulling out a high powered magnet. She’d known that would come in handy. 

Mr. Gold has conveniently left the remote out on the counter top and she used the magnet to pull it towards her. From there it was a simple matter of deducing the correct button to remove the shackles (which she guessed on the first try) and taking her hovercraft to Neal’s house. 

She made it there before Mr. Gold despite his head start so she was waiting for him when he arrived. He didn’t seem surprised to see her. 

“That was fast.” 

“I took my hovercraft.” 

“Ah of course.” 

“Please just give me the device. I don’t want to fight you today.” 

Something hardened behind his eyes. “No.” 

“Please?” 

“Not today, Agent French.” He pushed past her and towards the door but she grabbed a hold of one of his arms. She quickly had both of them behind his back. 

He sighed and his eyes burned with anger, but he did not put up a fight as she pulled the device from his pocket and dashed it against the ground. 

He stared at the shattered pieces for a moment. Belle stared at him. 

A moment later he sighed again, part relief part sadness. “That was a really terrible plan, wasn’t it?” 

“It wasn’t your best,” Belle said softly. She let go of his arms. “I’m sorry I said it was cowardly though.” 

He looked at her in surprise. “Why should you be?” He said bitterly. “It _was_ cowardly. I was—I was afraid this time would be one time too many. That he couldn’t forgive me yet again. So perhaps I did take the ‘easy way out’.” 

“Oh Mr. Gold, of course he’ll forgive you. He’s your son! He understands that you’re human. You make mistakes. He’ll come around. Go talk to him.” 

His tone was suspicious but his eyes flickered with hope. “You think so?” 

“I do,” she said, taking his hand and giving it a gentle squeeze. “Now go on. Talk things through and no wild schemes or magic devices.” 

He rolled his eyes, smiling slightly. “They’re not magic, Agent French.” 

“Might as well be. You seem to think they can fix anything.” 

“That’s because they can.” 

“Not this. Now go! Don’t make me tell you again.” 

“Very well…” He sent her a questioning look. 

“I’ll still be here when you get back,” she affirmed. 

He sent her a tentative smile. She sent him an encouraging one in return. 

He knocked on the door. “Neal? It’s me. I-I’ve come to apologize.” 


End file.
